Timberwolves say Jaden McDaniels suffered more severe high ankle sprain

The Timberwolves announced Tuesday Jaden McDaniels would miss at least two weeks because of a left ankle sprain.

On Wednesday, coach Chris Finch shared the detail that McDaniels in fact suffered a high ankle sprain when he rolled it going up for a rebound in Monday's game against the Spurs. A high ankle sprain is a more severe injury that can take longer to recover from than other ankle sprains. Still, Finch said the Wolves are hoping McDaniels will make significant improvement in the next two weeks.

"Big loss for us for sure," Finch said. "His versatility is really important to us. Obviously his production has been great."

The second-year forward had an inconsistent start to the season and foul trouble knocked him out of the starting lineup, but over the past month he has become a key part of the Wolves' rotation, whether starting or coming off the bench.

"We've got Jaden's back," forward Taurean Prince said. "Get healthy and be back for the playoffs. We just have to do what we have to do to sustain everything we can until then and we're 100 percent healthy."

McDaniels, who is averaging 9.4 points per game, has expanded his offensive game and was taking the ball to the hoop off the dribble more often instead of spotting up for open three-pointers. He had scored double figures in 11 of his past 14 games and was shooting 52% over that span.

McDaniels is also one of the Wolves' best defenders.

"Time is still on his side," Prince said. "He's super young. If he was 30 years old, the conversation might be different. My thing is just staying clear mentally. Don't let doubt creep in. Continue to put in your work."

There will be changes with McDaniels out, such as Josh Okogie likely seeing significant playing time, Finch said.

Okogie's playing time has diminished in his fourth season with the team, and he is averaging just 11.3 minutes in 40 games played. That's just over half of what he averaged last season.

The Wolves may also go to smaller lineups that include Anthony Edwards at the four slot, which is where McDaniels often played. Edwards may also see some of the prime defensive matchups that McDaniels often got.

"[Edwards] wants [those matchups] more than we give it to him," Finch said. "So we feel he's ready for that. We feel he'll respond well."

Finch is also hopeful the increased defensive responsibility will help reignite Edwards on offense.

"Maybe [with him] at the top of the floor he'll get some break opportunities where he's out ahead of the pack," Finch said. "The other thing is a lot of time with Ant, when he's super engaged defensively, he perks up all the way around. Hopefully it brings him to life there."

Other injury updates

Once again the Wolves entered Wednesday with a host of other players questionable on their injury report. Patrick Beverley (ear injury) was in the lineup again after playing Monday. Jarred Vanderbilt (left quad contusion) was back after missing three of the past four games. Jordan McLaughlin (right groin soreness) was available after missing two of the past three games. Naz Reid (back spasms) missed his second consecutive game.